Democratic County Legislator Shawn Morse announces his candidacy for state Senate against Neil Breslin in the 44th Senate District during a gathering of supporters at Ogden Mills apartments in Cohoes N.Y. Wednesday May 2, 2012. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union)

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said Saturday that a plan to hand local governments control of minimum wage could stoke damaging competition among counties and harm economic development.

Speaking publicly about the minimum wage for the first time, McCoy, a Democrat, echoed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's criticism of the proposal — backed by state Senate Democrats — that would allow cities, towns and villages to set their own minimum pay rates.

The Senate bill is co-sponsored by state Sen. Neil Breslin, a Bethlehem Democrat who represents parts of Albany and Rensselaer counties.

"Some bigger businesses are going to say I'm going to go to Schenectady because it's cheaper," McCoy said. "I do really believe that it should come from the governor and the Senate and Assembly — not that I say that too often."

McCoy said he supports the current phased increase in the state minimum wage to $9 by 2016.

Earlier this month, Democrats introduced bills that would accelerate that hike by a year, peg future increases to the rate of inflation and provide local control.

Advocates contend that allowing for local variance, as some other states like Maryland and California do, mitigates regional differences in the cost of living that render a statewide rate unfair to those working in pricey cities.

Among the plan's most influential supporters is New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. But Cuomo dismissed the idea of a patchwork of different minimum wages across the state as potentially "chaotic."

"Are you going to do it based on emotion? Because that's what happens," McCoy said. "There's a bigger thought process, and I have to agree with the governor 100 percent on this."

Breslin, the brother of former County Executive Michael Breslin, said he would prefer that the state act on its own to raise the minimum wage — currently $8 an hour and rising to $8.75 next year — to around $10. But Senate Republicans, who control the chamber in a coalition with a four-member Independent Democratic Conference, have said they have "no interest" in re-opening the minimum wage talks.

"If the state doesn't come through, let the localities do it," Breslin said.

Breslin acknowledged the legislation might create some level of competition among counties but said "it would be so modest as not be a serious detriment."

Albany County Legislature Chairman Shawn Morse, a Cohoes Democrat, said he also supports a $10 minimum wage. But Morse said he would only support local control if there were no other choice.

"If the only option we had was to do it on a local level, I would support that option. But I would be afraid that it would (backfire)," Morse said. "It has to be something that applies to everybody."

Morse said he's researching whether the county can require higher wages be paid by companies it does business with — similar to President Barack Obama's executive order requiring some federal contractors to boost their minimum wage to $10.10.